A Most Wonderful Gift

It has been a month packed full of painting, work, life and some little health struggles (and a big one for my dear brother, who is recovering, thank goodness).

Andrew and I have managed to go plein air painting 3 or 4 times in this month (it’s a blur) and I’ve spent considerable time in the studio. This is a productive time of year before the summer art season begins. It’s a period when I try to best myself with each painting all heading towards juried shows. I’ve had some success in that regard and a few steps backward. Time will tell which painting was which!

We have decided to invest in framing tools so we can do it ourselves. Of course that takes time away from painting but the savings will be great.

I’d like to go on about all the painting adventures I’ve had but that’s for another time. I’ll leave you with something I thought of the other day when I was standing amidst blooming Camas, sunshine and painting joy: The most wonderful gift a parent (or anyone) can give their child (or anyone!) is the awareness of and opportunity to learn to make art. I can be in the worst of moods or situations and I always have the ability and knowledge that I can go to that happy place. Always. And I can’t imagine life without it.

So I will continue to send art supplies as gifts to my nephews! And I will continue to express my happiness to interested onlookers when painting in the field. And I will continue to make these posts even when the audience is few and far between. Because I have the most wonderful gift in my possession and I want to share.

Here’s the work I’ve done in the past month. The good, the bad and apparently the ugly. I’ll let you decide which is which.